Plastic water pump elbow

[camos]

A little while ago I mentioned having a bad week. Part of it was my VR got blown over which jammed the engine guard into the plastic elbow off the water pump. It now has that crease that so many Ventures seem to have. On the up side, so far it is not leaking.

 

My question is what kind of plastic is the elbow and can it be repaired?

[Flyinfool]

I'm not sure what kind of plastic it is, I tried ABS cement and it did not stick, I then bought a new one.

 

I also ground off the corner of the engine guard so that it would not happen again.

[camos]

I'm not sure what kind of plastic it is, I tried ABS cement and it did not stick, I then bought a new one.

 

I also ground off the corner of the engine guard so that it would not happen again.

Good to know, when I look at it what comes to mind is PVC but that's totally unscientific. Good idea about grinding the guard.

[Flyinfool]

Most (but not all) grades of PVC have a max working temp of 140°F. CPVC is good for 200°F, still a bit short for part of the cooling system.

[camos]

Most (but not all) grades of PVC have a max working temp of 140°F. CPVC is good for 200°F, still a bit short for part of the cooling system.

So I guess it's not PVC then.

 

I would have tried the ABS patch just because it is so easy to do. I wonder if anyone has tried patching that elbow with JB Weld.... or something else?

[Air Ready Auto]

I plastic welded mine. I forget the brand name of the stuff I used. Got it at Napa. I drained the coolant system, scuffed up the area and applied the stuff. Seams to be working all right. No leaks for the last year and a half or so.

[bongobobny]

To my knowledge, they are still available and not that expensive. Replace it and the o rings and be done with it...

 

And yes, bend the guard back to its original position!

[Flyinfool]

As Bob said, bend the guard back to its original position before you grind off the corner. I used the hardware store "chrome" rattle can paint to touch up just the bare steel after grinding so that it does not rust, If are not looking for it the chrome paint is close enough to hide that corner.

[camos]

Thanks for the ideas.

 

Mine is not leaking so I think I'll put some JB Weld on it just to strengthen the area. If it starts to leak I'll get a new one.

 

I did bend the guard back to its original position but one of the attachment points on the lower frame got torn so it got bent back into position too but it needs to be re-welded. The guards have been modified so they are painted. Since some of the paint got chipped off when I was bending it back into position, the whole thing will be getting a re-paint.

[Prairiehammer]

The Venture water pump elbow 26H-12446-00 is still available new for $37.43 from Boats.net.

However, you can get the same elbow 1FK-12446-00 (painted black for the VMax) for $22.45 from Boats.net.

[bongobobny]

...and a $3 rattle can of silver make a lot of those elbows the right color again!